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was puzzled. “This could have been a gym or even a place to train wild animals to do tricks.”
    George chuckled. “I can just see an elephant on a trapeze.”
    The other girls laughed, then Bess said, “Tigers can climb.”
    “Yes, tiger climb,” came a voice from the open window.
    Nancy glanced up. “Rishi! Step in and take a look.”
    While Rishi marveled at the strange sight, Nancy bound up George’s cuts with a clean handkerchief and rubbed her bruises.
    “Rain hard outside,” Rishi said.
    “Then we’ll stay here until the storm’s over,” Nancy suggested.
    Rishi began to test the ropes and swings. Bess uttered a little cry of alarm as the boy swung through space, hanging by his knees from the bar of a trapeze.
    “He’ll be killed!” she exclaimed.
    Nancy warned him to be careful. “The safety net is broken,” she cautioned. “And some of the ropes look very old and insecure.”
    “Rishi not take chance,” he promised.
    Outside the old house rain fell in torrents.
    “While we’re waiting, I believe I’ll do a little investigating,” Nancy said.
    “We may as well go along,” George added. “I feel okay now.”
    Leaving Rishi to amuse himself, the girls entered the secret tunnel. George found a light switch and clicked it on.
    “One thing is sure,” Bess remarked. “People come here. Otherwise the power would have been shut off. Why was this tunnel built, do you suppose?”
    “That’s what I’d like to find out,” Nancy replied. “I have a feeling that so far we haven’t delved very deeply into the mystery of this place.”
    As they moved down the tunnel, the girls came to a turn-off. Nancy paused a moment.
    “I’m sure I must have taken the main branch before,” she said. “Let’s explore this one.”
    The passage she indicated was very narrow and so low that the girls were forced to stoop. It was dimly lighted. Suddenly Bess halted, gripping Nancy’s arm. “What was that?” she said.
    “I heard nothing.”
    “It sounded like a groan.”
    “You must have imagined it, Bess,” George scoffed. “Not that I blame you. So much has happened I could start hearing things myself.”
    Unwillingly Bess moved forward again, slightly ahead of the others. She had taken less than a dozen steps when she stumbled over an inert figure stretched across the tunnel floor.
    “Water! Water!” a man mumbled.
    Bess wanted to turn and flee but could not do so with Nancy and George directly behind her, blocking the path. They, too, were startled, yet both realized that the man had been injured and needed attention.
    Nancy knelt beside him, raising the victim to a sitting position. In the dim light she could distinguish only the faint outline of his face.
    “Where are you hurt?” she asked gently.
    “My head—I think it’s broken. I was struck by a robber and dragged in here. But I’ll get even! I’ll fix him!”
    Tired from speaking, the man dropped back against Nancy, a heavy weight in her arms. It was a full minute before she could rouse him again.
    “Who are you?” she questioned. “Tell us your name and why you are in this house.”
    “I’m Jasper Batt. Old Batty, some folks call me. I look after the property.”
    “You mean you’re the caretaker?”
    “Yes, I’ve been here since the other guy was fired.”
    “Can you describe the person who struck you?”
    “No,” the man muttered. “He sneaked up behind me. I have a good idea who it was, though.”
    “Tell me his name,” Nancy urged.
    “No,” Jasper Batt muttered. “I’ll track him down myself. And I’ll get my papers back, too!”
    “Papers?” Nancy inquired alertly.
    “Valuable documents entrusted to me by Rai.”
    “Rai?” the Drew girl exclaimed, believing that she had not heard correctly.
    “I was to give the papers to Mrs. Allison when she came for them. If I don’t, I’ll lose my job.”
    “I’ll help you recover them,” Nancy said soothingly when she saw that the caretaker was becoming excited.